Managing Sustainable Asset Networks using Advanced Information Systems

Development of a Building Information Modelling Asset (BIMAsset) value realisation model

Background: Implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) has proven to deliver major performance improvements in Program efficiency, design quality, constructability, waste reduction, environmental performance, and capital & operational cost management of built environment projects. Yet BIM implementation in low BIM maturity markets, such as the UAE, is limited to technology applications which fail to deliver the full potential of BIM benefits to client originations. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to investigate BIM implementation from a client’s perspective and to present a case study that exhibits a level 2 BIM implementation process in a traditional procurement environment. Methods: The study has used a case study approach combined with a literature review. A critical appraisal of relevant literature is presented to highlight key issues hindering BIM implementation for client organizations, especially in developing BIM markets, such as the UAE. The research is collected using an action research approach within a case study, including project document audit, participation in project collaboration meetings and extensive communication with the project stakeholders. The case study is presented in a practice-oriented research format describing the project details, procurement approach, BIM development & management process and benefits achieved for the project client. Results: The paper presents a structured approach to strategically introduce BIM within a low BIM maturity market, creating partnering relationships, empower the supply chain partners and achieving significant BIM benefits with minimum disruption to existing work practices. The paper highlights that although BIM requires a step-change in the work practices of the construction industry, yet it is possible to successfully implement BIM with traditional procurement settings, which may be a critical feature in a certain market or a client requirement. Conclusion: There is a need for case study based, practice-oriented research work within the domain of BIM implementation. Construction clients in low maturity BIM markets are concerned about the perceived benefits of BIM and its practical implementation within existing business practices, which is addressed in this paper. Overall, the findings of this study are useful for construction industry clients and academia in redefining the existing work practices to incorporate BIM-enabled processes and applications.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been in use in the Hong Kong Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry as an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tool for more than a decade. However, the increasing usage and rapid development in both the AEC industry and academia point to the potential multiple applications, impacts and much broader potential benefits that may be generated from BIM implementation. The current frequently used BIM applications have advanced the project performances levels and consequential benefits of relevant stakeholders in different dimensions.
\nHowever, BIM development in the Hong Kong industry has not been smooth. Attention has been diverted from potential benefits to the barriers and constraints that retard BIM implementation. This has in turn limited the applications, hence not convincing industry participants of their potential benefits in quantitative terms. Furthermore, conflicts between BIM implementation and the existing project processes also retard the smooth development of BIM. A higher level of collaborative working is required for deriving more benefits from BIM.
\nThis research aims to develop possible feasible solutions to reduce the conflicts/barriers in BIM implementation and advance current BIM implementation towards more collaborative and integrated working arrangements (IWAs), with expected broader potential benefits in the context of the Hong Kong industry. IWAs in this research refer to: a) organization structures, b) information exchange mechanisms, and c) project processes. 
\nAn inter-locking set of research methods were applied in this study to achieve the research goal. Literature reviews were conducted to extract and illustrate the basic concepts in BIM and lay the foundation for proposal development. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted to explore BIM implementation scenarios in the Hong Kong AEC industry. Two case studies helped to map out BIM implementation processes in real projects in Hong Kong. Finally, a focus group meeting was held to discuss, validate and improve the relevant research findings and improvement proposals. 
\nThe main outcomes of this research are the proposed short term IWAs and long term IWAs for optimizing overall potential benefits of BIM implementation. The proposed short term IWAs consist of specific measures for participants to address the barriers and conflicts in BIM implementation within existing project processes. The proposed long term IWAs are based on a conceptual framework and processes to build an integrated working environment for BIM. The outcomes of this research can help industry practitioners to overcome current barriers and derive more benefits from BIM by developing specific measures targeting the current scenarios, as well as provide possible directions for moving further forward in the long term. The research outcomes also offer relevant contributions to knowledge by proposing fresh concepts and approaches to creating and developing collaborative working environment for BIM implementation based on relevant principles and guidelines that are in turn derived from Relational Contracting (RC) frameworks.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has excellent potential to enhance building operation and maintenance. However, as a standardized data format in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, the retrieval of BIM information generally requires specialized software. Cumbersome software operations prevent its effective application in the actual operation and management of buildings. This paper presents BIMCoder, a model designed to translate natural language queries into structured query statements compatible with professional BIM software (e.g., BIMserver v1.5). It serves as an intermediary component between users and various BIM platforms, facilitating access for users without specialized BIM knowledge. A dedicated BIM information query dataset was constructed, comprising 1680 natural language query and structured BIM query string pairs, categorized into 12 groups. Three classical pre-trained large language models (LLMs) (ERNIE 3.0, Llama-13B, and SQLCoder) were evaluated on this dataset. A fine-tuned model based on SQLCoder was then trained. Subsequently, a fusion model (BIMCoder) integrating ERNIE and SQLCoder was designed. Test results demonstrate that the proposed BIMCoder model achieves an outstanding accurate matching rate of 87.16% and an Execution Accuracy rate of 88.75% for natural language-based BIM information retrieval. This study confirms the feasibility of natural language-based BIM information retrieval and offers a novel solution to reduce the complexity of BIM system interaction.

In order to avoid the safety problems of the public building structure in the dense passenger flow environment, the structural health monitoring system is combined with the Building Information Modeling (BIM) method. This paper proposed a dynamic building information management system based on Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) information to ensure the security of its passenger flow information for a crowded exhibition hall. The continuous development of BIM (building information modeling) technology has greatly promoted the development of the construction industry. We can achieve real-time updating and visualization of sensor monitoring data and effectively manage different types of monitoring information as well as improve the controllability and safety of building structure monitoring by introducing BIM technology into structural health monitoring. A static building information model (BIM) was established to generate dynamic passenger flow information through video data learning, and provide a basis for structural health monitoring system for structural safety analysis and emergency response functions under dense passenger flow conditions. A dynamic building information management system suitable for structural health monitoring was built to display the dynamic network of traffic capacity in real time, so that the building information model is dynamic and predictable. The establishment for the combination mechanism of BIM and SHM system improved the data information circulation of BIM system. It could carry out dynamic health monitoring management and early warning control of building structures, realize information sharing in the process of health monitoring, and effectively improve the safety and operational efficiency of public building structures.

Building Information Model (BIM) was initially proposed by Autodesk in 2002. Currently, BIM has been widely recognized in the industry worldwide, baced on its great value. The concept of BIM has been gradually well-known in construction industry in China, and it’s a good prospect for development and application of BIM. But its application and promotion is still in start-up phase in China. It should be actively promoted in whole society. It was suggested in the paper: application and promotion of BIM technology should be implemented step by step, and precursed to apply in construction phase, ultimately achieved overall industrial application. This paper analyzed characteristics and advantages of application and promotion of BIM technology in construction phase, and discussed implementation sschemes and steps. Finally, it proposed BIM should be grandly guided to achieve comprehensive application in project’s whole-life.

The idea of Building Information Modelling (BIM) was created already in mid 1970s, first under the name of Building Product Modelling (Eastman 1975) and started to become a wider industry issue since 1995 when the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) started to develop a standard called Industry Foundation Classes (IFC); a schema and format for the data exchange between different software applications used in Architectural, Engineering, Construction, Owning and Operations (AECOO) activities (IAI 1995). In the first 10 years the main focus in the development of BIM was strongly in the technology. This was necessary since a standardised data exchange is a mandatory precondition for an efficient BIM-based workflow between different participants – Integrated BIM (iBIM) – and the development and implementation of such a standard proved to be significantly more complex than believed in the beginning of IAI (Kiviniemi 2006; Kiviniemi et al 2008). However, despite the still existing technical problems and limitations in the data exchange (Kiviniemi 2008), the main obstacle for the deployment of iBIM in the last few years has not been the technology, but the old work processes, old business models and conservative attitudes in the industry. The traditional paper-based processes do not utilise the full potential of iBIM and AECOO industry’s business models do not support necessary development of the processes. Finally in the last few years the development focus has started to shift towards necessary changes in processes and business models. This Chapter is based on several research and pilot projects and the development and use of iBIM in Finland since 2001 and highlights some of the current problems.

With the emergence and development of BIM (Building Information Modeling), traditional architectural design pattern have had great changes. By analyzing the trend and technical content of BIM and taking the Step Vision for example, this paper presents the application of BIM as a new concept in the design and further discusses the advantages and disadvantages in architecture design.

The advancement of positive design in Building Information Modeling (BIM) is limited by several aspects of BIM technology, including the breadth of data, visualization capabilities, dynamic data interaction, and application timelines. This paper seeks to advance the application of positive design in BIM by developing a software suite tailored for road and bridge engineering. The software integrates positive design methodologies and facilitates the generation of design outputs, in accordance with established road and bridge design processes. The integration of BIM and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), in conjunction with oblique photography technology, facilitates the development of digital terrain models, which subsequently support positive design processes. These processes encompass the parametric design of template libraries and component libraries, horizontal and vertical alignment design, the design of bridges, tunnels, and culverts, intersection design, and the design of ancillary facilities along the route. The outputs of the design process include the application of three-dimensional models, estimation of quantities, and the generation of two-dimensional drawings. This paper introduces key technical solutions and the principles of program implementation related to parametric design, planar and vertical-horizontal design, as well as the integration of two-dimensional and three-dimensional designs. Furthermore, it explores the utilization of data interaction functions to effectively integrate models with finite element software, enhancing the overall design and analysis process. The conclusion identifies that the primary cause of cracking in the pavement layer is transverse tensile stress. The most critical load position occurs directly above the trapezoidal stiffener at the mid-span section, where the maximum transverse tensile stress reaches 1.45 MPa. This study aims to advance the forward design of BIM by expanding its application in both breadth and depth. It seeks to provide demonstrative experiences that will facilitate the promotion and further development of forward design practices in BIM.

Abstract. The integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is gaining momentum in digital built Asset Management (AM), and has the potential to improve information management operations and provide advantages in process control and delivery of quality AM services, along with underlying data management benefits through entire life cycle of an asset. Work has been carried out relating GeoBIM/AM to buildings as well as infrastructure assets, where the potential financial savings are extensive. While information form BIM maybe be sufficient for building-AM; for infrastructure AM a combination of GIS and BIM is required. Scientific literature relating to this topic has been growing in recent years and has now reached a point where a systematic analysis of current and potential uses of GeoBIM in AM for Infrastructure is possible. Three specific areas form part of the analysis – a review of BIM and Infrastructure AM and GIS and Infrastructure AM leads to a better understanding of current practice. Combining the two, a review of GeoBIM and Infrastructure AM allows the benefits of, and issues relating to, GeoBIM to be clearly identified, both at technical and operational levels. A set of 54 journal articles was selected for in-depth contents analysis according to the AM function addressed and the managed asset class. The analysis enabled the identification of three categories of issues and opportunities: data management, interoperability and integration and AM process and service management. The identified knowledge gaps, in turn, underpin problem definition for the next phases of research into GeoBIM for infrastructure AM.

The design of the civil engineering works in High Speed Two (HS2) is a good example of what can be achieved when the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process is embraced. Central to the BIM process is a three-dimensional (3D) model that communicates the civil design to enable construction, asset management, operation and maintenance in a fully collaborative and coordinated multi-disciplinary environment. Software developers of leading BIM packages have responded to the requirements of HS2 and similar projects by delivering feature-rich applications to enable design and BIM to go hand-in-hand. HS2, however, is under a tight programme to deliver a 3D model with a Level of Detail (LOD) beyond what has been required on most projects to date, and this has resulted in exhaustive testing of the software. Such requirements have identified gaps in the BIM software tools for drainage designers. Drainage designers utilise hydraulic modelling software to design and test their designs. This software must be efficient, reliable and, most importantly, have all the design tools necessary to design and test a drainage network to meet the client’s requirements. HS2 Ltd’s requirements under the Asset Data Dictionary Definition Document (AD4) are to provide spatially accurate 3D models along with detailed and relevant asset data. The integrated project team delivering the HS2 Area North works opted to achieve this by delivering fully attributed BIM models. However, software developers of leading drainage design packages do not have the BIM capabilities required to provide a BIM model with the LOD required in HS2 on their own. They must be integrated with a BIM software. This leaves drainage designers using two separate systems with a requirement to integrate two software packages to work seamlessly together in a BIM environment. To overcome this, a suite of tools was developed using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to convert from MicroDrainage (a drainage design tool) to Bentley OpenRoads Designer (a BIM package) and fully attribute the BIM models. The tools have been developed specifically for HS2 feature definitions and requirements, however, with further development, they could be customisable for use on other projects thus improving the level of detail, accuracy and efficiency future deliverables on future projects.

With the rising adoption of building information modelling (BIM) for asset management within the architecture, engineering and construction sectors, BIM-enabled asset management during the operation and maintenance phase has been increasingly attracting more and more attention in both research and practice. This paper provides a comprehensive review and analysis of the development of state-of-the-art research and industry standards that impact on BIM and asset management within the operation and maintenance phase. However, in the aspects of both information richness and analytical capability, BIM is not always enough in delivering effective and efficient asset management, particularly in the operation and maintenance phase. Therefore, a framework for future development of smart asset management is proposed, integrating the concept of digital twins. Digital twins integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to create dynamic digital models that are able to learn and update the status of the physical counterpart from multiple information sources. The findings will contribute to inspiring novel research ideas and promote widespread adoption of digital-twin-enabled asset management within the operation and maintenance phase.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the mutually supportive relationship between building information modelling (BIM) and asset management. In doing so, it will enhance the ability of infrastructure owners and their suppliers to develop and implement processes, tools and collaborative working practices that optimise infrastructure asset costs and performance over the entire life cycle of assets. The paper has been produced to help mitigate the danger of treating BIM and asset management as isolated practices; reinforce the need to consider BIM implementation in the context of wider asset management policies, practices and systems and vice versa; and maximise the benefits from investments being made in the development and implementation of BIM and asset management. Asset management and BIM knowledge activities and standards have emerged in the UK construction industry as more or less parallel initiatives and have been crystallised in standards such as BS PAS 55 (Asset management – Specifications for the optimized management of physical assets) and the soon-to-be-published ISO 55000 and PAS1192-2 (Specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling), respectively. This paper explains the relationship between these two disciplines and why they must be considered together if the full benefits of each are to be realised for both the asset owner and its service providers.

Although the construction industry has been evolving for centuries and researchers have been seeking innovative solutions for decades, diverse challenges still exist in making the construction process faster, safer, cheaper, and more accurate. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the emerging tools in the field of architectural engineering to overcome these problems. Applications of this tool are very promising but its uses are still relatively limited in many countries including Bangladesh. So this study conducted a pilot project and case study analysis using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to control the project’s time and cost from Bangladesh's perspective. The objectives of this study are: (1) to examine the benefits of using BIM for project time and cost control and (2) to study the challenges of applying BIM to a case project during its life cycle. This project is being achieved by introducing Autodesk Revit MEP (2021) as the methodological tool of BIM software. The resultant data in the BIM system are extremely useful and can be generated to optimize the project delivery processes. The results also revealed that using a case study, BIM functions to help reduce costs, optimise the schedule, and make benefits for all project participants. Thus, model-based cost estimation and time schedule optimization show effective results of using BIM instead of conventional modelling methods.

An integrated decision support system for building asset management based on BIM and Work Breakdown Structure